Renesmee dead?
by prelude to the final moment
Summary: what would happen if the Volturi kidnapped Renesmee, what if they made the worst mistake possible? what if Bella blamed herself? what if Aro learned how to feel? what if?
1. Chapter 1

Authors note:hello, okay, so I couldn't wait for reviews and decided to write it now anyway, so if you thought the funeral scene (which was just a basic inspiration) was bad, you may have your opinion proven or disproven, so here it is…(this is just the first chapter I'm working on the others right now)

Prologue:

Aro sat silently, deep in thought, staring into nothingness, but seeing everything, Caius slouched in his adjacent throne, and gazed up at his brother, "what is it you are seeking?" he asked his smooth voice radiating throughout the large space, "do you search again for a way to indoctrinate the Cullens?" he asked, Aro merely shook his head, "they're talented I would agree, but they are adamant, I doubt we will sway them, but I have given some thought to that hybrid of theirs, Renesmee," he dropped his voice at her name, and looking directly into caius' eyes continued to muse, " she's very bright, and there is no doubt that her ability is infinitely unique, likely, when she matures it will become more than a sharing device, maybe she will be able to communicate at great distances, or project her thoughts to sway others in her way, imagine the possibilities!!!!!" Aro's voice echoed triumphantly around the chamber, and he beamed down at Caius, and Marcus," and then there are the Quilettes…maybe we could lure them both here, I think we may have a mission for Demitri…"

Chapter one

Bella, entered the cottage looking as ravishing as ever, here new grace had been unsettling to me at first, but now it seemed like she was meant to be one of us, as If she were born for the life of a vampire, a life with me. "Hello Love, how was the hunt?" I asked her smiling up from Renesmee's bedside, she was asleep, and when Bella was gone, sometimes I'd go into Renesmee's room to watch her sleep, as I once had for her mother. Bella smiled down at me and knelt next to me on the floor, "good, Emmet nearly lost his arm to a grizzly, but I haven't felt this full in a long time" she smiled, content swimming in her golden eyes that now matched mine, I reached down and clutched her hand in mine, and we were both silent listening to Renesmee's soft breathing, and the steady thrum of her heartbeat. She was so beautiful when she slept, like she was entirely human, she had her mother's eyes and curly hair, but in the same bronze as mine, her lips and heart shaped face were Bella's as well, she was our love embodied in a sweet innocent form, one that would remain with us forever, I turned my head, and reached up and cupped Bella's face in my hand, and kissed her, "GROSS!!!" Renesmee interrupted suddenly, and we both turned to look down at her, she smiled impishly and rolled her eyes, she was a better actress than I gave her credit for, "good morning" I smiled," how long have you been up?" I asked her trying to hide my smile, and failing. "since you came in 3 hours ago" she answered smiling again, I tousled her curls and lifted her up in my arms, time to go to the rest of the family, I grunted, surprised by how much more she weighed than the night before, Bella looked at me significantly, I raised an eyebrow and looked briefly down at Renesmee, then back at Bella, she smiled, "how would you like to spend the day with Jacob?" she asked innocently, there was one benefit of Jacob imprinting on Renesmee, free babysitting whenever we wanted it, of course Renesmee smiled and nodded enthusiasticly.

Once we had returned to the cottage having left Renesmee in Jacob's care, Bella grabbed me and promptly ripped my shirt off, tackling me on the floor, I smiled up at her, "well, it looks like someone missed me" I commented, she responded by leaning in and kissing me.

When we were finished, we just lay on the bed together, I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in the sweet scent of her long mahogany hair, and she smiled, "is this real?" she asked softly, I smiled remembering when I had left her, and when I returned, I had had to spend hours convincing her she wasn't just dreaming, it made me realize how much we really loved each other, and how I could, and would, never leave her again. I kissed her tenderly at the base of her neck above her creamy collar bone and she sighed and ran her hand through my hair, smiling again, I thought for a moment about how she would have blushed doing that if she were still human, it was one of the few things about her I longed for that I would never see again, but it had been worth it, not only could I have her forever, but now we had Renesmee too, it almost seemed to good to be true, that we, vampires, the embodiment of sin were allowed to be so happy. Of course there was always danger, the Volturi, rival covens, humans discovering us, but they were all insignifigant in comparison to the love we had, that we would protect for eternity. I smiled down at her again, as deliriously happy and disbelieving of my wonderful fortune as ever, I stroked her cheek "I love you" she whispered looking up at me, "and I you." I replied, she snuggled into my chest and closed her eyes, and she lifted the shield around her mind, a flood of memories engulfed me, memories of her and I, in the meadow, in the car on the way home from Port Angeles, our wedding, our honeymoon, me lying with her while she slept, me saving her from James, and Victoria, being together in the hospital, our first kiss, before and after she was changed, so many, flashing across her mind, but I felt her shield creeping back in, she did that for me sometimes, she'd lift her shield so I could see her thoughts and memories, usually when she didn't have words to explain, but it always came back, it was very hard to push off, I knew that, she explained it so I would understand why she didn't do it more, but this was only one feature of her her shield, she could extend it around all of us, and single out enemies, without shielding them, but only against ,mental attacks, physical attacks were impossible for her to impede with her mind, but I would protect her, even though she was just as strong as me, I had to protect her, a life without Bella would be less than a half life, it would be nothing, we were one, I knew we couldn't survive apart, I needed her more than a human needs air, and from her thoughts I knew she felt the same, soul mate couldn't begin to describe her.

Bella looked at me with an impish smile on her lips "what are you thinking about?" she asked, I laughed, "how much I love you," I answered, she leaned into me and grinned, "and how much do you love me ?" she asked, "more than anything that ever existed or ever will exist" I answered seriously, she kissed me again, and I held her imagining her heartbeat from long ago when it was real.

When we got to the main house, Esme and Carlisle were on the couch in the living room reading, Jasper and Alice were playing chess, I could hear Rosalie upstairs thinking about Emmet in ways I really wished I could tune out, and Emmet reading a sports magazine, and regrettably thinking about Rosalie. The fact that none of us slept left us with more time on our hands than most people, so we learned more in 1 year than most people in a life time, spending all our extra time hoaning our skills. Bella grabbed my hand and led me to the grand piano in the corner, "play it for me?" she asked, referring to the lullaby I had composed for her when I first realized that I loved her, I answered by sitting down and placing my hands on the keys, I struck the first chord, and then melted into the melody, ii heard her sharp intak of breath were I sped up near the end, and saw the smile in her eyes when I glanced at her, when I was finished she sighed, "I always loved that" she whispered, and she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my neck, I reached up and stroked her hair, could life get anymore perfect? I wondered.

But then it was all shattered.

Alice's face was a mask of terror, she looked up from the game suddenly, her eyes clouded over as she watched the future, "Alice what is it?" Bella asked as I read Alice's mind, "I can _SEE_ Renesmee!" she answered her voice full of fear, and surprisee, I choked out "NO!!!!" really loudly as I read her thoughts, I knew this, this vision, but it had changed, there was Renesmee, she was in someone's arms, I'd once thought they were Jacob's, but it had been too blurry to tell,(Alice couldn't see shape shifters or Renesmee, and that in itself was terrifying) but now there was a face, it wasn't anything like Jacob's, it was one I knew though, it was Aro, leader of the Volturi, but then the vision kept going, there was Renesmee, her face was full of pain, and fear, there was Caius, laughing at her, but there he was, his teeth penetrating the flesh on her neck, then there was the final scene, she was lying on the floor of the Volturi's castle, she was still, her lips had faded to pale pink, her hair was limp, her eyes were empty, and I could hear the silence of her heart, and smell the blood that soaked the floor "no!" I exclaimed, but from the expression on everyone's faces I knew Alice had just finished telling them, I was so caught up in her vision that I hadn't realized she'd been speaking, "can we do anything?" Carlisle asked, Alice looked defeated, she shook her head, Bella broke into dry sobs, I had to be strong, I could save her, I knew I could, I had to, I held Bella while she sobbed into my chest. "Bella, love, it's going to be alright, we're going to save her, we can still save her! Alice's visions are subjective, nothings definite yet, right?" I asked turning to Alice, but by the look in her eyes, and the way she was trying to hide her thoughts that there was almost no way we could, but we _HAD_ to, Renesmee was everything, she was our baby, I knew we would never forgive ourselves if this vision came true, I knew that eternity wasn't long enough for that pain to dull….we had to save her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Not my baby, not my Renesmee, my little nudger, not my baby… that Was all I could think as Alice recounted her vision to us, I couldn't imagine Renesmee's sweet strong little body, cold and dead, I couldn't imagine her eyes, dull and empty, I couldn't lose her, she meant as much to me as Edward, she was Edward, she was me, she was Renesmee. I curled into Edwards arms, sobbing, were I human I would have cried but this was all I could do, Edward kissed my forehead and tried to comfort me, we had to save her, we just had to! But I didn't know what to do, how could I save her, how could I possibly stop them? I already knew, I couldn't. I felt weak, defensless, useless, I felt human, and Edward just kept talking trying to soothe me. I shook my head, I gently removed his arms and collapsed on the couch rubbing my temples and trying to calm down, to think, how long? I asked Aice, she shrugged, I nodded I resignation , and suddenly it struck me, "Alice? How big was Renesmee In your vision?" I asked, I knew this would give us some insight due to Renesmee's rapid growth, she grew more than 3 inches every day, suddenly she froze, "Bella, she was only 1 inch taller the she was this morning…"

I heard nothing but my feet pounding on the ground, and Edward's beside me, we were breaking the treaty, going on to Quiluette land, but this was an emergency, I heard the werewolves tearing through the forest, and there was another strange scent, but I paid it no mind, and I kept running, we were almost to Jacob's house, Renesmee would be with him, and they would be there with Billy. When I got to the house, I stopped, the door was wide open, and the scent of Demitri, the Volturi's tracker, hung fresh in the air, I ran in, there was Billy black, dead on the floor, Jacob was gone, and there was no sign of Renesmee, "but how did they get past the werewolves? How come they weren't caught we almost were." I asked Edward, he shrugged, but then I remembered the smell, "Felix!" I spat, realization flashed in Edward's eyes. "Demetri and Felix must have journeyed here together, then while Demetri found Renesmee, Felix lured the wolves away." Edward stated, anger rising in his voice," this must have taken a lot of planning" he snarled, I ignored it and pulled him out the door, "we have to follow the scent, hurry, if we run we can probably catch up by nightfall!" I exclaimed breaking into a run, while Edward kept pace beside me, we got to the cliff, the one I had dove off once so long ago, and when I looked out to sea, there was a boat disappearing in the distance and the faint scent of our daughter on the wind.

I didn't even think about it, I leapt off the cliff headfirst, plunging into the frigid water, but staying afloat easily while I waited for Edward to follow, i began swimming as fast as I could before I heard Edward beside me, we were swimming really fast, I was sure we could overtake the boat if we kept going, and as we swam I heard the wolves howl in the distance.

22 hours later the boat was in sight, I glanced at Edward and we both dove beneath the surface, since neither of us actually needed air, we could stay underwater indefinitely, and thanks to our heightened senses we could speak, "where do you think we are?" I gurgled, "off the coast of Italy," Edward answered, I heard the boat speed up, and struggled to adjust my pace to match it, but then as the water grew shallower I heard the boat dock, and then I heard their footsteps as they carried my baby away, and I knew then that I would be too late.

Chapter 3:

We ran non-stop for 2 days trying to catch them, but it was futile, they disappeared sometimes the trail vanished only to pick up hours later after time wasted searching. How did they do that?! It was really frustrating, no, maddening was a better word. I was being driven to the point of madness, beyond the point of madness, I was so terrified, I felt like I had a heart, and that it was breaking, and burning, and ripping all at the same time. I was afraid, I felt like we weren't going to make it on time, I felt like it was already too late, but I knew we had to keep trying.

I found Felix's scent and, then picked out Renesmee's, "we're on the right track," I muttered, steering Bella alongside me around a corner, and there it was, the city of Volterra, rising up in the distance, as tall and dark and imposing as I had remembered it.

When we finally got there, the gates were closed so we had to climb the walls, once we entered the city, I knew we would find the Volturi as easily as a needle in a haystack, they had many different locations in the city, each looked identical on the inside, we had no idea which one they occupied at present, and a guess would take more of our precious time, "what should we do now?" Bella sighed looking at me with a defeated expression, I shrugged, "I guess we should just try to locate their most recent scent trail.." I knew this would be difficult oin a city of this size, but then I started scanning for their thoughts, I searched everywhere, but ii couldn't find them among the mindless petty chatter of the humans:

"Where did I put that…"

"I wonder if we have any bread…"

"Where did George put the wrench…"

" Ugh, this movie is terrible, how can I get out of this date without…"

"Jingle bells, jingle bells, why do I have a Christmas song stuck in my head…"

"What was the name of that shop where I got my blue…"

"God it's hot in here…"

"DON"T HURT MY Jacob!!!! Please!!!" I knew that voice anywhere, it was Renesmee, I searched for the location her thought had come from, "Bella, I heard her!" I exclaim, grabbing her arm and dragging her through the streets to where my daughter's voice had sounded, if only I knew the city better, if only I'd heard her voice earlier, if only Bella and I had kept her with us, if only, if only, if only! We were getting closer, her presence was stronger, then I saw it, it loomed hundreds of feet off the ground tall and dark and impressive, of course the Volturi would pick one of the grandest, and most ancient locations in the city as their base, it was like them, with their vanity, to try to scare us even without seeing us. We dashed inside the ancient cathedral, I smelled Renesmee I inhaled deeply, the scent was fresh, it had been left just hours ago, "we're coming Nessie…" I whispered…

Chapter 4:

I'd been in this little room for over an our now, Aro kept looking at me, smiling delightedly, "what do you want?" I asked him finally, "why you of course dear child." He replied, "why?""your talents are extraordinary, and I've always been interested in the immortal children, but you are more then that!" He gloated, I glared bitterly, "and what make you think I want to stay here with you?" I asked angrily, "why this dear child!" he snapped his fingers and two members of the Volturi guard enter, with Jacob held in their hands, "if you comply, we will let the dog go, and we will let your parents, who pursue us at this very moment, leave with their lives, you must tell them that you want to remain with us, though your father's ability will be difficult to evade, but I'm sure you can manage," he said smiling complacently, "PLEASE DON'T HURT MY JACOB!!!!" I glared at him and dropped my voice to a whisper, "or my parents, and I will give you what you want…" Jacob was stunned, "don't do it Ness!!! Don't let them ruin your life, we can save you, we will save you! Just give us time, okay? Can you do that ness? Wait till Bella and Edward are here wait-" Jane silenced him with a glare and he collapsed on the floor writhing in agony, "DON'T HURT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!" I shrieked, "please!" I felt tears of fury sting my eyes, Aro glanced at Jane and nodded, instantly she looked up, and smiled at me, hher fair skinned twin brother Alec, put his arm protectively around her shoulder smiling just as evilly, "take the dogg to the catacombs and leave him there for a while, Marcus said from his corner, Aro bristled obviously he liked to think himself in control, this could prove to be useful I thought in the back of my mind, as they dragged Jacob off he tried to phase, but somehow they stopped him, "Renesmee!" he yelled my name over and over, but I stared at the floor, this was for his own protection, then I heard their voices, "Renesmee? Caius? Aro? Marcus?" they were calling for all of us, but my name was the only one the=at sounded urgent, "send Demitri down to find them," Marcus muttered again from his corner, and he again earned a glare from Aro, who nodded grudgingly, "NO," I yelled ,"leave my mommy and daddy alone! or I will never join you, I'd rather die!" I yelled fiercely, but before Aro could respond there they were, looking bedraggled and relieved that I was okay, "Renesmee!" my mother breathed my name softly, a look of utter happiness blurred her eyes, "we came for you Nessie, we're going to get you out of this." She turned to Aro,"YOU!!!" she screamed," you kidnapped my daughter you filthy horrible…" I kknew she would have said mire, but Daddy had clamped his hand over her mouth, "Aro, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, danger glinting in his golden eyes, "why did you take my daughter?" he asked, his voice dangerously low, "why ii only brought her here to extend an invitation to join us." Aro replied with a friendly smile, knowing he had already won, looking significantly at me, Daddy released a sharp growl, and crouched ready to pounce on Aro, I knew mommy was protecting daddy, me from Jane, Alec, and the rest of the Volturi guard's mental attacks, but I also knew that she couldn't hold them off from physical attacks at the same time. Aro glanced from daddy to me to Felix to me again, and I took the hint, "Daddy, don't I want to stay, there's so much I can learn here, and Aro has been so kind!" Aro beamed, "see, we meant no harm we merely wanted to know if she would join our ranks, instead of you," he hinted delicately "If she declined we would have sent her back to you in due time, but we put up an offer she couldn't refuse," he sounded excited, as if this weren't all preplanned, " if you wish you could join us with your daughter…"Aro smiled again, hopefully this time, "NO" I yelled before I could stoop myself, " no, I need to do this alone, I need to grow up Daddy, I'll be sure to visit, I promise." If I was doomed to this I needed it to be worth it, I had to protect them, they both looked confused, but then it dawned on me, Aro hadn't just wanted me, I was bait, he knew they would never leave me, soo I looked at Mommy, she stared back, confusion clouding her face, I stared at her willing her to understand, willing her to leave, "Aro, don't drag them into this," I made voice light, and tried to giggle, "just because I've decided to join you doesn't mean you can use me to lure my parents in too!" I smiled trying to make it a joke, but I told Aro with my eyes that it wasn't I think he understood, "you may go." He said, smiling again, "no." Daddy exclaimed," I know her, this wasn't her choice, you did something, Where's Jacob?" he asked slyly "I found his scent while I was following you, so don't tell me you don't know where he is….ah" he paused reading someone's thoughts, "the catacombs…" he glared at Aro return my daughter me or else…" a loud snarl ripped the Air while Mommy shifted into a fighting position, but still kept up the barrier, "give us our daughter, and Jacob-now! You have no right to take them, they are our family!" mommy curled her lip to reveal her gleaming teeth, and then someone, a member of the guard launched herself forward, towards my Mommy, Aro groaned," I hoped Marsila would restrain herself, we shouldn't have let her in here! Now it will all be lost."

But the other vampire still flew at my mother, at the same time, Alec and Jane prepared to attack my Daddy as soon as Mommy was distracted enough to lose the barrier, I couldn't let that happen, without consiously deciding, I leapt forward, flying toward my mother and the vampire, her teeth found my flesh, but mommy was safe…

Chapter 5:

I saw it in slow motion, but it happened so fast, Renesme leaping towards her, to stop the vampire that flew towards Bella, the vampires teeth closed around Renesmee's arm and then her blood was spilled, the scent was too sweet, before Bella or I could react, everyone was trying to get to her, Bella and I tried to elbow our way through to Renesme, but it was too late, Caius was laughing, and I heard him draining our daughter's blood, she didn't even scream, and when we got there it was too late, her little body was limp, totally pale, lying there on the stone floor, her eyes were dimming, there was no light left, but her lips moved, "mommy, Daddy, Iove you…" she gasped, " tell Jacob, I love him, get him, get out of here…." And with a shuddering breath she closed her lovely chocolate eyes. Bella sank to the floor, shrieking in greif, and the other Vampires backed away, before I could stop her she turned, she pointed to the tall blond female who had started it, "YOU!" she shrieked, all ration gone from her musical voice, she pounced on her, ignoring the vampire's feeble attempt to defend herself, she reached forward, tearing into the female's flesh dismembering her, she shredded the vampire beyond the need of flames to dispose of the body. I knelt next to Renesmee, I couldn't believe it, we had actually failed, I'd hardly even entertained the idea, I was sure we would fail, but at the same time I couldn't believe it, she was gone… the very idea seemed inconceivable, I would never see her memories again, never hear her voice, never see her grow up, never see her smile, or laugh, or blush, or breathe or blink. She was gone. I turned to Caius smiling with my child's blood on his lips, "I'll kill you!" I screamed, I leapt forward, and Bella, having finished with the blond, dove to help me, we were both tearing at his ancient flesh, the guard, and Aro, and Marcus, were to stunned to doo anything, I grabbed a match from the book I always kept in my pocket and threw it to his dismembered corpse, then I turned to the rest, the rage pumping in my veins like blood, my vision was tinted red, I froze, smiling at Aro, "what do you have to say now?"I screamed, he looked away, but I read his thoughts, "I'm so sorry," but even in his mind I sensed no sympathy, I laughed bitterly "'sorry?' you're sorry? Sorry," I mocked, "sorry, I just killed your daughter, sorry it was all so I could harvest her powers, so I could use her however I wanted, after all I'm such a _terrible greedy selfish _man that the life of a _child_ that's not mine doesn't matter, no I'll just _kill _her, not like there's anyone that _loves_ her, after all as long as I have my fun her life is meaningless right?"I spat, sarcasm and hatred saturating my voice, glaring at him, watching as my bitter words, clouded his face, and then an emotion I knew Aro had never felt before filled his eyes, there it was, remorse, "I-I-I'm so sorry, please I beg you let me repent, how can I change this? Can I _do_ anything?" he asked earnestly, all his cunning intelligence was gone, and I couldn't believe I had gotten through to him, he was afraid, he was confused, it was like he had aged a hundred years in the last minutes, I glared at him, "no, Renesmee is dead, it is your fault and unless you can ressurect her, you are of no use to me, I would kill you, but that would be a release, I want you to live the rest of eternity knowing that you killed her, that it's your fault our sweet little girl will never grow up, I want you to die inside, but keep living, I want you to suffer for eternity as I will have to everyday thanks to you…" with that I lifted Renesmee's body into my arms, and turned, "send Jacob outside we'll be waiting,"I turned now to Bella, and whispered to her gently,"come love, there's nothing mire we can do." She looked up at me, sadness swimming in her golden eyes, she nodded and rose from the floor, and gently, touched Renesmee's cheek, "alright…" the sound of her voice was choked, and I wanted to grieve, but I knew we had to keep it together, just until we got home, Aro gazed after us I knew he was calculating, scheming again already, but then he stopped, "what have I done? What am I doing?" he thought, "why?" I felt the resentment bubbling inside me, there was remorse, and sorrow, but not for Renesmee, for himself, his brother, his life which was now full of enemies, and the thought of my eminent vendetta on his mind", I told you I won't kill you, I want you to suffer forever." I growled quietly, and with that I put my arm around my sobbing wife, and we left, running out of the passage from which we had come. I held Renesmee's body as I had in life, her head on my shoulder, her body clutched against my chest, and I tried to hold the sadness in, suppress the grief, the anger, I worked at my mind to keep from going back killing Aro, and suddenly I realized he hadn't tried to stop us, he hadn't resisted, his brother Marcus, had just sat in the corner observing, and neither cared for Caius when I destroyed him, the sweet black smoke still saturated the air, it's scent gave me satisfaction, I had avenged her death, I lost a daughter Aro lost his brother, BUT IT DIDN'T BRING Renesmee back, the feeling in my chest was hollow, and I pulled Bella closer.

Chapter 6:

She was dead, her copper curls hung loosely over Edward's shoulder, her eyes were closed, and I knew it was forever, there was no heartbeat no breath, no smile, her scent was already becoming stale, she was gone. Then I heard Jacob's pounding feet as he ran to us, "Where is she?" he asked terror in his voice, then Edward turned around and he saw her, Jacob's face crumpled, his eyes were instantly full of tears, the stars shone down turning them too streams of silver down his cheeks, "NO!" he screamed, he ran back towards the cathedral, Edward handed me Renesmee and ran to stop him, I heard Edward's velvet voice as he tried to calm Jacob, Jacob's despairing strangled shouts, I knew what he would do, I knew there was no way he could bear her loss, no way he could survive it she was beyond his soul-mate, he had fallen in love with her the day she was born, and he was waiting for her to grow up enough to marry, till then he'd been content to play with her and adore her till she was ready, now he would lose it, it was like he'd died too, and now as Edward practically dragged him back the madness already glowed in his black eyes, he shook his head and phased, looking at Renesmee one last time as he ran off towards home. I knew he was going back to say goodbye, as if losing Renesmee wasn't enough I would also lose my best friend ",let's get her home." I whispered, and we ran back towards America, my dead baby clutched in my arms.

We met the others on our way home, they were running, they had in tow, the Denali clan, the Amazon vampires, and even the Romanians, but when they saw us the all stopped dead, Esme gasped, Carlisle froze, Rosalie let out a wail of grief and sunk to the ground. everyone was silent, except for, Rosalie's anguished sobs, they had all stopped running, and without a word, Alice stepped forward and took Renesmee in her tiny arms, "I'll get her home, you tell them what happened…" she smiled sadly and turned, "I'm so sorry…" she whispered, sadness weighing down her high voice, and I nodded, then turned to the rest of our family, and began the story…

When we got home it seemed arrangements had been made, there was a sullen looking woman in the corner, Renesmee, was in the kitchen resting on a pillow in the seldom used dining room, Charlie was in the living room, folded onto the couch, tears in his eyes, he was riveted on his granddaughter, when he noticed me, he rose and clasped me in a tight hug, and I sobbed into his shoulder, his new wife, Sue was on the chair across the room, tears in her eyes as well, "what happened?" she asked softly, I shook my head, I wasn't ready to tell that story again.

The sullen looking lady introduced herself, but I didn't remember her name, she was going to coordinate Renesmee's funeral.

Chapter 7:

The sun was hidden behind the usual bank of clouds, but the gloom seemed inappropriate, Renesmee had been so warm and bright, and on the day we said goodbye, the gloom remained, sucking all the joy out of the world, just like Renesmee's death. Here we stood, Edward and I in the clearing where I'd first seen him in the sunlight, where we had taken Renesmee to play, I leaned into his shoulder, and his arm tightened around me and I knew he was holding back sobs, trying to be strong for me. _Let it out_. I thought, lifting my shield so he could hear me, _let it out, you don't have to be strong for me, we loved her, we both did, and you should grieve with me…_I looked in to his angelic, godly face and forced a smile, "it's okay to miss her." I whispered out loud, and he nodded.

Edward held me close, and if either of us could shed a tear we'd both be soaked, but dry sobs sufficed as we stood over the body of our little girl, Renesmee's eyes were closed, and her face was peaceful, she looked as if she were sleeping, but we knew she wasn't, the steady thrum of her heart beat was silent, the blood beneath her ivory skin was still, her body was motionless, filled with an utter stillness brought on only by death, Jacob sat on the ground beside her, total defeat emanated from his red rimmed bloodshot eyes, and his limp tired hands, he just sat there in his human form, almost as if he were no longer able to speak, he was quiet, and I knew he'd not just lost his love, but the other half of his soul, he just stared at her, and every time he looked away, his eyes slid back to her motionless body, he begged her silently to return, to come back, uselessly he pleaded with her, knowing already that it was too late. When he hinged a glance at me, looked at my eyes, I knew he was remembering Renesmee's they were the same as mine had once been. "Jacob" I whispered "promise me you won't do anything stupid, she wouldn't, she wouldn't want that….." he looked at me and I could tell by his eyes that I was too late, he'd already decided, I touched his arm lightly, "goodbye, I'll always love you Jacob, you're my best friend " I whispered, my voice cracked, he looked at me gratefully, phased, and ran off into the woods, "he's going to kill himself, love" Edward whispered touching my arm gently, "you know we've lost him don't you" he observed looking into my eyes. Then he turned back to Renesmee, the pain in his eyes scorched me to the core, and I knew mine were the same, "goodbye Nessie, my baby…" he leaned forward, and lightly kissed her cold forehead, then pulled me into his chest as I was struck by a fresh barrage of dry-sobs, he was sobbing too, sobbing into my hair, and I swear I felt tears in my eyes.

She was gone. Renesmee was gone. Renesmee IS gone. It's my fault, I left her with Jacob, I provoked the female Volturi, I showed her to Aro I let her go. I wasn't fast enough. I felt my shield lifting, as if on its own, and I realized I was sending the thoughts too Edward, I yanked the shield back and tried not to show them in my face, but he had seen them. "no love, it wasn't your fault." He whispered tenderly stroking my cheek, "it was Aro's fault, it was that vampire's fault, it was Caius' fault, but it wasn't yours, you did everything you could to stoop it and so did I, but we weren't enough…" he pulled me into his marble chest and buried his face in my hair. "I love you, and Renesmee is gone, but she isn't ever going to be gone for good as long as we live on."and even though it hurt, and it always would, I knew he was right. And ii buried my face once more in his smooth neck as they lowered my baby into the dirt to be preyed upon by worms, giving life to the world, as it had to her…

The end.


End file.
